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Environment

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Shift towards energy efficient cities

The built environment accounts for approximately 40% of global carbon emissions. As cities expand and climate targets grow more ambitious, the demand for sustainable solutions is greater than ever. Reducing emissions requires a holistic approach that takes into account every stage of a building’s lifecycle – from construction and operation to modernization and end-of-life recycling.

At KONE, we see this as an opportunity to make a real difference. By improving the energy and material efficiency of our products, and embracing circularity for example through our modernization services, we help our customers reduce emissions at every stage of their building’s lifecycle – whether it’s a small residential structure, a skyscraper, or a major metro station. Our science-based climate targets guide our efforts, and we are committed to cutting emissions both from our own operations as well as from our products, which in turn also helps our customers to decarbonize.

The shift towards smarter, energy efficient cities is happening now. Together with our customers and suppliers, we’re pushing the boundaries of innovation to create new solutions to radically cut carbon.

Environment

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Our actions

We integrate sustainability into every aspect of our business by designing energy-efficient solutions, optimizing our products’ material use, and minimizing emissions in our own operations.

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Energy efficiency

Our largest environmental impact relates to the amount of electricity used by the equipment over its lifetime. This underlines the importance of continuing to improve the energy efficiency of our elevators and escalators.

We have 23 elevator and 8 escalator models with the highest energy efficiency rating. Our world-class technologies, such as the regenerative drive and the KONE UltraRope® significantly reduce energy use. For example, regenerative technology recovers up to 40% of an elevator’s energy consumption, returning the energy to the building grid. KONE UltraRope® can cut the energy consumption of a 500-meter elevator ride by up to 15% when compared to conventional technology.

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Modernization

Around 80% of the buildings today will still exist in 2050 (World Economic Forum, 2022), but most were not designed to meet the current decarbonization targets. This is why there is a growing need to modernize the existing elevators and escalators in buildings with the newest technologies.

Modernization is a growing part of our business and sustainable by nature: we are able to prolong equipment lifetime and reduce energy consumption by up to 70%. Through partial modernization, we extend product lifecycles by reusing components, reducing waste, and cutting embodied carbon emissions by up to 78% compared to full replacements. *

*Calculations based on environmental product declaration (EPD), verified by third-party. A MonoSpace upgrade was used in this calculation.

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Material efficiency

Supply chain partners are core to our business, and we expect them to share our ethical and environmental values. Together with our supply chain, we reduce our material emissions and explore for example low-carbon steel.

To reduce our carbon emissions from materials, we seek ways to develop even lighter products that use less materials and increase circularity in our products. For example, together with our supply chain we increase the portion of recycled materials, like recycled steel, in our products. Through partial modernization we carefully analyze which parts are worth retaining, saving steel and other resources, and significantly reducing waste.

As we provide our customers with reliable and energy-efficient equipment that has a lifetime of over 25 years, we have an important role in keeping resources in valuable use for as long as possible. We aim to extend the lifetime of our equipment through service and modernization including intelligent KONE 24/7 Connect and predictive maintenance.

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Low-emission operations

We are transitioning to a low-emission car fleet, improving energy efficiency in our facilities, and using renewable energy.

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End-of-life recycling

We ensure that old materials and components are properly recycled, with 90% of the metals used in our products being recoverable. Read about circularity at KONE

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Our progress

Our clear approach and concrete actions are already making a meaningful impact.

In 2024:

  • Emissions from our own operations reduced by 29% and product-related emissions per product ordered reduced by 12.8%, compared to a 2018 baseline.
  • Emissions from materials sourced decreased by 6.5% compared to 2023, as we systematically engaged with key suppliers covering 80% of our material-related emissions.
  • Emissions from the lifetime energy use of our products reduced by 10%, compared to 2023.
  • We reached a 99% share in renewable electricity in our own operations.
  • In 2023, we became the first in our industry to achieve carbon-neutral manufacturing units globally.
See summary of our sustainability progress

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Greenhouse gas emissions from own operations

(Scope 1 & 2) KtCO₂e

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Product-related greenhouse gas emissions

(Scope 3) t CO₂e/order

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Iconic Hotel Marcel poised to become the first net zero hotel in the U.S. 

When it comes to cutting carbon, Hotel Marcel blurs the line between the past and the future. Built in 1968, the landmark architectural property is now on the fast track to becoming the first net-zero hotel in the U.S. Thanks to our regenerative drive elevators that return energy to the building, KONE is helping this customer to decarbonize. 

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Decarbonizing cities with courage, speed, and simplicity 

As cities worldwide set ambitious targets for carbon neutrality, KONE is deepening our commitment to sustainability and helping customers reduce their emissions radically. Our new SVP Sustainability & Environment, Kirsi Simola-Laaksonen, shares her insights on shaping the future of carbon-neutral cities. 

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New or renew? The challenge of shaping the future of cities 

London, like many other historic cities, is filled with old buildings that are about to face a pivotal point in their history. Modernization can make them more sustainable, more desirable for tenants, and more relevant for an ever-evolving city and its future generations. 

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Environment

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KONE Corporation Finland, KONE Oyj, Keilasatama 3, P.O. Box 7, Espoo, 02150, Finland